The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 403

248. Nephilim War (3)

As Judex reached out, a massive greatsword materialized before him.

The sword’s trajectory, flicked upwards, zigzagged like lightning.

He slowly stroked the blade of the greatsword with his palm, chanting a runic verse.

Instantly, the blade glowed crimson.

KWA-BOOM—!!

Judex’s greatsword intercepted Karil’s Folsetia. With a slight shrug, he unleashed a sharp gust of wind, pushing Karil back.

“You…!!”

He raised his sword high above his head.

Then, a sphere of light condensed, and dozens of arrows were fired in a circle, surrounding Karil.

Swish-! Swish, swish, swish–!!

Karil raised his sword, cleaving through the arrows of light raining down on him. Explosions erupted along the path of his blade, scattering the arrows to either side.

Crackling……!! Crack!!

Karil dashed forward through the explosions. However, the arrows of light, now fragmented, multiplied and targeted Karil’s back once more.

“Careful…!!”

Milliana, seeing this, shouted a warning.

“Haaap!!”

She raised both arms, the scales on her arms expanding like shields, intercepting the arrows of light aimed at Karil.

Bang! Bang!! Kwa-ga-gang!!

Milliana staggered under the barrage, but stood firm behind Karil.

“You trash…!!”

Judex glared at Milliana, who had blocked his attack, and roared.

Swish, swish, swish……!! Swack!!

Just as Judex’s greatsword was about to strike her, thick chains ensnared the massive blade, causing it to fall with a thud!

“Pull!!”

At Aedan’s command, the Snakels [elite assassins] pulled on the chains wrapped around Judex’s sword with all their might. Aedan ran along the taut chains, leaping up to where the greatsword and chains were bound, wrapping his legs around Judex’s neck, and climbing onto his shoulders.

Swish-! Stab! Stab!! Pow……!!

Aedan, wielding the twin swords Thunderclap and Lightning, stabbed Judex’s spine dozens of times as he descended.

“Kugh……! Kuaaaaagh!!”

Aedan, having plunged his swords from Judex’s neck down his back to his lower waist, landed on the ground with a somersault and quickly vanished.

Boom-! Boom-!!

Just as his body seemed to disappear, he reappeared behind Judex’s massive wings.

“Hiss……!”

Aedan held his breath, plunging his sword into the wing joint of Judex.

Boom-! Boom!!

He continued to stab with his swords, moving once more with the sensation of teleporting, as if hiding in the shadows.

Crack-

Even with speed that transcended human limits, he gritted his teeth, seemingly dissatisfied with his own velocity.

Transcendent Howl Technique 4th Stage Awakening, Shadow Shrinkage.

At that moment, Aedan’s form blurred like the 1st stage Spirit Transport, then his face turned black like the 2nd stage Demon Form, unleashing speed beyond limits, moving freely between the shadows cast by Judex’s back and wings.

Kwa-ga-ga-gang—!!

The moment red tattoos emerged from his forehead, across both cheeks, to the chin of his blackened face, Aedan’s form completely disappeared.

The extreme that surpassed even speed.

Simon Coden, the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom and successor of the Transcendent Howl Technique, had only mastered up to the 3rd stage of the technique.

The reason Aedan, who had not mastered the Transcendent Howl Technique, could defeat Simon Coden was because of Earth Shrinkage, a speed that surpassed even the Transcendent Howl Technique.

Aedan knew that his ultimate technique, and the only thing that allowed him to surpass Sword Masters, was also speed, and so he pushed that weapon to its limit.

That was why he was able to step into the 4th stage, a realm that even the originator of the Transcendent Howl Technique had not reached.

[It was worth wallowing in the Dragon’s Land.]

Alrn Zavius smiled faintly as he watched.

Crack-! Stab! Stab! Stab!!!

Kwa-ga-ga-gak—!!!

With unseen, tremendous speed, Aedan stabbed Judex’s entire body, from shoulder to arm, waist, thigh, and ankle, as if caught in a whirlwind.

Red blood welled up on Judex’s body, as if pierced by thousands of needles, and his pure white wings instantly turned crimson.

“Alright!!”

The Snakels cheered at his attack. Aedan was already standing in the center of them.

After his meeting with Karil, his life had completely changed.

A being who had only operated in the shadows was now standing in the light, at the center of people’s attention.

“You…!!”

Judex, gritting his teeth in dizzying pain, shouted at Aedan.

Whooooong—!!

Judex lifted the greatsword entangled in chains and swung it horizontally with all his might.

“Ugh…!”

“Uwaaaagh…!!”

As Judex swung the greatsword bound by thick chains, some of the Snakels, the elite assassins of the Eastern Kingdom who were holding onto the chains at the end, were thrown back by the force, while the rest tumbled along, still gripping the chains.

Swish, swish, swish……!! Swack!!

Aedan dodged the greatsword and leaped into the air, but the chains bound to the greatsword wrapped around his leg.

“……!!”

Judex raised the greatsword above his head and swung it down, causing Aedan’s body, bound by the chains, to plummet straight down.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang……!! Kwagang……!!

As he swung the greatsword in a circle, the chains slammed into the ground like a whip, wreaking havoc, and the surrounding pillars of the fortress walls were mercilessly destroyed.

“Are you alright?”

“……I owe you one.”

But surprisingly, the end of the chains had already been severed, and Juke Di Hold was holding onto Aedan’s shoulder, who had been caught.

“I felt like I could have reached him if I had done just a little more…….”

Aedan bit his lip, as if disappointed.

“I guess I still can’t reach even the hem of my lord’s robe.”

His leg, which had been entangled in the chains, was crumbling away. But looking at him, Juke pursed her lips and said.

“I wish I was as strong as you.”

“……What?”

“Then I could have landed a blow on that guy with you.”

Humans grow when they set a goal.

But if that goal is in a realm that they can never reach, no matter how hard they struggle, they give up.

Most people felt more despair than competitiveness when they looked at Karil.

Swordsmanship, magic, and even spirits.

Looking at him, who stood in a position of absolute supremacy, even the strong of the continent felt their own skills were insignificant.

But Aedan was different.

He had been watching Karil longer than anyone else, and although there were times when he felt that way himself, he overcame it and never gave up.

And with just his Earth Shrinkage technique, he finally reached the realm of Sword Master and was now trying to surpass that realm.

The product of effort.

He couldn’t be good at everything, but he honed the one thing he could do well.

Ironically, people found hope in Aedan’s efforts, that they too could become stronger, rather than in Karil’s greatness.

Aedan couldn’t help but smile faintly at her words.

“A bunch of bugs are still just bugs!!”

Judex glared at the two and spat out the words with a disgusted expression before slashing his sword.

Thud-

At that moment, Karil, who had leaped into the air, grabbed Judex’s face.

“Yes, that’s how it looks to me too.”

Crack……!! Crack, crack, crack……!!

As he plunged Folsetia into Judex’s collarbone, his body trembled as if electrocuted.

“If you had seen what I saw in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave, you might not have blindly believed in Yulla.”

“……Kugh, kugh!!”

Judex struggled to reach out his hand to pull out the sword Karil had plunged in.

Thwack-!!

But at that moment, Karil leaped over Judex’s back and punched his spine where Aedan had stabbed with his swords.

Thwack……! Snap!!

With the sound of bones breaking, Judex’s back arched backward like a bow.

“Cough!!”

Red blood burst from Judex’s mouth. Lifting the giant floating in the air with one arm, Karil flicked his palm and waved his hand.

“To his eyes, you are all just bugs.”

Then, Ice Claw and Lakna flew in the direction his hand moved, piercing Judex’s sides.

“Kuaaaaagh……!!”

Listening to his screams, Karil waved his hand once more. Then, the two swords that had been plunged into his waist were pulled out and flew into the air once more, this time piercing both legs.

“You think……! You can inflict pain on me with this!!”

Judex raised both arms and exerted strength, instantly regenerating his broken waist, and shouted as he pulled out the swords embedded in his legs.

“I am a being chosen by God……!!!!”

Clang-!! Rumble……!!

At that moment, simultaneously with Judex’s shout, the Sky Fortress began to move.

The four towers rising from the Sky Fortress bent downwards, and the ends of the towers, like gun barrels, pointed towards Karil.

[Karil, be careful. Sky Cannonade is coming.]

At Lamine’s words, Karil nodded, as if he already knew.

Whooooong……! Whoong……!!

The power of light condensed at the ends of the towers could be felt. It was the Radiance Power that only Nephilim could use. The power gathering in the gun barrels sent shivers down the spine just by looking at it.

“You’re going to shoot me? Then you’ll be within the range of the bombardment too.”

“You fool……!! Nephilim are not harmed by the power of light. Only humans are annihilated! You have no chance. You can only follow the divine will!!!”

“Is that so?”

It was then.

Just before the bombardment, Karil turned his back on Judex and ran towards the towers. Judex, rolling on the ground, shouted at him as he ran towards the towers.

“Stop him!!”

The Nephilim in front of the crystal sphere controlling the towers hurriedly reached out their swords towards Karil.

But there was no way that mere Nephilim guards could stop him, who even the four Archangels could not handle.

Swish-!!!

Each time Folsetia moved, the limbs of the Nephilim were severed, and they fell.

“……Crazy!! What a useless act! There’s no way a human can control the Sky Fortress!!”

Judex shouted, seemingly bewildered by Karil’s actions.

“The Radiance Power that Nephilim possess. In other words, it is the power of light and, at the same time, an attribute of the power that God possesses.”

Clang……! Whoooooong……!!

As Karil placed his hand on the crystal sphere, stepping over the corpses of the angels, the tower’s gun barrels surprisingly turned towards Judex, as if the Nephilim were controlling them.

“The only beings with the attribute of light aren’t just gods, you know.”

As if wings had appeared, something like a pure white cloak fluttered around Karil.

“Lasis…….”

Knowing whose form it was, Judex unknowingly uttered that name.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga……!!

The light condensed in the spire engulfed Judex.

“Even if you have the power of light, don’t you know that Sky Cannonade doesn’t work on Nephilim!!”

Judex instead leaped towards that light.

“That’s right.”

But towards him, Karil replied in a nonchalant voice.

“The attribute I possess isn’t just light, you know.”

“……?!”

* * *

“Krugh……! Krurururugh……!!”

Judex stood staggering, with his left arm, shoulder, and half of his upper body destroyed by the bombardment.

“What a monstrous regenerative ability.”

Karil sat on top of the turret, crossed his arms, and shook his head with a disgusted expression.

“H-How…….”

Even in a state where tattered flesh hung as if bitten by a monster, he was not dead and stood on staggering legs.

“Didn’t you know that I can use all the power of the Two Great Wildernesses? To think you tried to fight me while not knowing that. Your arrogance is sky-high.”

Karil sneered as he looked at him.

“You think……! That a being like you would be a threat!! The only being who can kill me is God, and the only being I follow is also God!!”

Gurgle……. Squirm…….

Flesh began to rise, as if new muscles were being created over the destroyed flesh.

[At this rate, it won’t end. What should we do?]

Alrn Zavius clicked his tongue as he watched Judex regenerate again.

“Nephilim are the race of God. They are a race that possesses the power of God, albeit partially.”

[Yes, they are the race of light. And you attacked him with the power of Duat [realm of the dead]. But even with the amplified power of the tower, you couldn’t kill him.]

Alrn replied to Karil’s words.

“There’s no need to worry. I was just experimenting on him. And the experiment was successful. Because I confirmed that the power of darkness can harm them.”

[Only the power of corruption can end the lives of Nephilim. That’s why Duat, the spirit closest to the attribute of corruption, is effective.]

Flame King Lamine replied to his words.

“That’s right. I needed to think about why the Platinum Dragon tried to obtain Lasis’s power. If he really wanted to become God, the power of light, which is the same attribute as God, would not be enough. There is only one God’s seat, and to obtain that seat, you would have to drive out the owner.”

Karil said quietly, looking at Judex, who was slowly regenerating.

“He wasn’t trying to ascend to the God’s seat with Lasis’s power. It’s the opposite.”

Thud- Thud- Thud-

He slowly moved his steps.

“Kru…… Krugh……!”

Judex struggled to regenerate his broken body. But the darkness of Duat permeated between the growing muscles, binding him and preventing his recovery.

“The Platinum Dragon must have known the secret of the Thousand-Year Ice Cave. Lasis’s power was only needed to control this power.”

At that moment,

The Folsetia, which had been dyed emerald, turned gray once more.

“Corruption.”

Swoosh-

Karil pointed his sword towards Judex.

[You mean the leader of the Nephilim was just an experimental stepping stone for you to find a sure method of God-slaying. You really are a terrible guy.]

Alrn chuckled at Karil’s words.

“Nephilim, if you are a being who follows God, then you must now kneel before this power.”

“How dare a mere human…….”

Looking at the sharp blade, Judex sensed that the aura flowing from the tip of the sword could truly kill him this time.

“Yes, a mere human dares.”

As the Folsetia, dyed pitch black, was raised above Karil’s head, Judex felt as if a giant tower was standing tall.

“No way…….”

Thump-

He rubbed his eyes, doubting what he was seeing.

The form of the giant tower disappeared as if swept away by the wind, and Karil’s sword was brought down straight in its place.

“Because this is the power of God that only humans can use, and the power of God-slaying.”

Crack……. Crackle……!